Last Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May signed article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, which starts the ball rolling for Brexit. You would think that this would be the most important news story in British newspapers this week – but no. The Daily Mail decided to run with a story on Tuesday which is…
Be Our Guest: “Beauty and the Beast” (2017)
Following the current trend of Disney live-action remakes, the latest edition has now hit theaters all over the world: “Beauty and the Beast” (2017). A tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, the film follows the all-too familiar love story of the beautiful and adventurous Belle and the cursed Beast. Set in a…
National Glamour Day Middelburg
This Saturday April 1, it’s National Glamour Day! Organised by one of the biggest women’s magazines of the Netherlands, Glamour Day is the ultimate day to go shopping and spend all your student allowance on fashion, beauty and accessories. When you take your copy of the April edition of Glamour magazine to stores and web…
In search of “diverse” literature
While “diversity” is in many ways a subjective concept, it is difficult to argue that there are an infinitely wide variety of unique human experiences. As our collective interconnected worldview expands, so does our awareness of the existence of people other than ourselves. With a focus on race, origin, sexuality, 2017 has so far shown…
‘Life Beyond the Bubble’
UCR’s alumni about transitioning from a UC program to a master at a regular university Do you believe that there is something more? Do you believe in life after UCR? I mean, I don’t want to be too dramatic here, but around your fifth semester you do start to wonder what life will have in…
UCR Musicians #4 – Thomas Hitchcock
My name is Thomas Hitchcock. I mainly play piano, the accordion, and I compose. What is your earliest music-related memory? When I was five, this kid, he was eight, showed me how to play Smoke on the Water. I thought he was really cool, being eight, and I was practicing those three or four notes…
Time to Party
If you have read any news article, sporadically scrolled through your Facebook feed or talked to anyone with an opinion, you have noted that the Dutch elections are nearing at an enormous pace. You might want to vote in these elections, or you are just generally interested and would like to be aware of what…
The Great Pizza Experiment
There is one question every UCR student wonders about at one point during their time in Middelburg: Where can I get the best and cheapest pizza? Surprisingly enough, this pressing subject has never been properly researched. In this qualitative research, Pijpelink and Van Doorn (2017) will be reviewing the most obvious and not so obvious…
New Beginnings: An Interview With The PartyCo Board
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, in the middle of midterms, I had a short and sweet interview with part of the PartyCo Board. The Chair, Secretary and PR manager took some time to let me in on the workings of their board and their philosophy. They also did not mind sharing a little bit about…
UCR Musicians #3 – Anne van Roozendaal
My name is Anne van Roozendaal. I mainly play the guitar, I sing, and I play a little bit of both the piano and the ukulele. What is your earliest music-related memory? My parents did a sort of experiment with me, when I was not even born yet. They played Street Spirit – Fade Out…
Humans of UCR – A Celebration of Our Diversity
Inspired by the world-famous Humans of New York project, I saw no better way to contribute to the diversity theme of this Tabula Rasa magazine than to take up such a project myself. I have always been intrigued by the fact that this wonderful world contains over 7 billion unique humans. Blessed with a rich…
Don’t Forget Them: Refugees in Middelburg
It has been a while since refugees have been prominent news. Much like any other news, the topic has been put on a backburner, because is anything more important than who Donald Trump has insulted this time?! Evidently not. So in light of this issue’s theme: diversity, I thought it was high time to show…
UCR Musicians #2: Sam Max
My name is Sam Max. I play drums and percussion. What is your earliest music-related memory? I’ve played music for almost longer than I can remember, so it’s difficult to think back to when I started. I do remember playing drums in the attic when I was three, playing along to the Beatles. I was…
A Sticky Situation
Shell strikes again: How an oil ‘giant’ pays no consequences for their actions So remember when you were a kid and your parents told you to never swallow your gum because it would stay in your stomach for 500 years? Then there would be that inevitable moment where you ended up swallowing your gum by…
Academia: A Tormenting Taboo
With this dissertation, we would like to raise our voices for a very common disorder on which rests an unspeakable taboo: Academia. This Intellectually Transmittable Disease (ITD) is relatively unknown, but affects many of us, as it is easily transmitted via prolonged contact with nerds. An open day might already be sufficient to contaminate the…
A Cut Above the Rest: An Easy Guide to Your Next Hair Appointment
A fresh start, while exciting, brings a boatload of problems with it. Questions of where to shop, drink, eat, bike, and where to walk to not get hit by bikes are probably at the forefront of many first years. However, those are not questions you see popping up on the Welcome to UCR Facebook page….
The global gag on abortion
During his first month in office – yes it has only been a month – Donald Trump has been signing executive orders left and right. From the Dakota Access Pipe Line and the wall on the border with Mexico to the infamous travel ban, there has been global outrage concerning his new legislation. However, there…
UCR Musicians #1: Hannah Davita Ludikhuijze
My name is Hannah Davita Ludikhuijze, and I play the cello. What is your earliest music-related memory? Music was always very central in the house where I was growing up, it was always playing in the background. Music was and is very much my idea of home. Apparently, when I was just learning to walk,…
Synopsis of Two Recent Voices
Much of today’s music works in tune with the 21st century vogue, celebrating the ego and promoting dull highs of living. This can especially be seen in the tracks that surface in the charts, centering on the semantics of dance-floors, mood-pushers and libido. At the top of the chain stand some aloof mega-stars fishing in…
UCR Votes: We All Want Jesse
And Dutch voters reject the Wilders movement The UCR Votes project started in the sociology class “New Social and Political Movements”, taught by professor Vazquez. For this course, all students have to set up an outreach project. The idea was to raise political awareness amongst UCR students – not that we lack political opinions at…